Gillingham FC Forum

- MK Dons saw 16 home league games without a win (including 11 defeats) before beating Wimbledon, starting a run of 6 home wins in their last 10.
- MK Dons have lost 8 league games at home this season but only have only lost 1 in in their last 8 and are unbeaten in 3.
- MK Dons have the second worst defensive record at home with 31 conceded. The Gills have the worst away with 43 conceded.
- MK Don's 24 points at home is the second worst total in the division. 25% of their home games have seen them concede 3 goals in a game.
- 25 (12 clean sheets) of MK Dons league matches have seen them fail to score or keep a clean sheet. The Gills saw only 10 (2 clean sheets).
- The Dons had been behind for 655 minutes at home whilst the Gills had been behind for 830 away - both figures are the highest in League 1.

3.02 Kick-Off [ 4 - 4 - 2 ]

3.08
GOAL! MK Dons 1-0 Gillingham: Muirhead
When scoring first MK Dons have won 80% of the 15 games (the highest in League 1) but the Gills have won 35.3% of the 17 (the lowest).

3.13
GOAL! MK Dons 2-0 Gillingham: Barnes

3.49 Half-time: 2-0 (46:02)
The Gills recovered from 2-0 down at half-time to win 3-2 earlier in the season. They have been 2-0 down 4 times since and lost all 4.

4.16
GOAL! MK Dons 2-1 Gillingham: McDonald

4.29
Cody is denied an equaliser after a great save from a one on one.

4.49
Penalty to the Gills for a foul on McDonald. Red Card for Baldock!

5.50
GOAL! MK Dons 2-2 Gillingham: Wright
Don's keeper Nicholls, making his first league start, saves Josh Wright's penalty who scores from the rebound.

5.51
GOAL! MK Dons 3-2 Gillingham: Lewington

5.51
Red Card. Bradley Dack is sent off for a second yellow card.

5.56 FULL-TIME: 3-2 (96:57)

Position: 20th
Attendance: 8,807 (650)
Referee: Carl Boyeson
Goal Highlights: https://youtube.com/watch?v=IUdX8qOU9aI
BBC Sport Match Report: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39389348

Do they have to?!
I'll do it know; the boys tried hard, they can be proud of their performance, but they must learn how to defend. The first three goals were just unlucky, but the fourth was definitely offside. As for the fifth and sixth, when that could happen to anyone; who would expect a forward to actually score goals? Then we saw a bit of a fightback until our entire midfield were all injured on 17 minutes when the trainer ran on, threw a bottle of water that took two of them out, then slipped and took off the other two. I thought bringing myself on was a master stroke, until I remembered that I'm sixty. The second half was much better; we only conceded three more. We go again next week; the boys are hungry, even though they all had McDonald's on the way home. I'll be in early tomorrow and I'm 100% sure we won't go down; well maybe 80%; or 70%, or 57% or......

Are you not expecting a win then Lidbid? Is this a tricky game on paper? 2-1 to the Gills then. Would say 1-0 but that would be absurd.

Mrs L must be so proud of you, over 60 and you can still bring your self off with a master stroke, jeezz I am SO jealous. I am sure it must bring a little ray of sunlight and hope into Mrs L's life when that happens, thoughts of things to COME.

The games keep getting bigger.We must go there and not lose,as you expect some of our rival Teams to get results.I wont be making the trip,but hope our fans can get the reward of three points.I know it wont happen,but I would love to see MBO start with Cody on Saturday.We play a lot of hoofball under Pennock,so with the amount of headed goals MBO scores it could work on Saturday.For me Donnelly offers nothing upfront.Parker has 2 goals,but now is the time to see what MBO can do.I don`t personally see it as a risk as he has scored 20+ goals in the youth 2 seasons running.Dack did the same in the youth,and look how he has done over the last 4+ years.

Goals 5 and 10 minutes with a normal defence back and a midfield pretty much as you would expect it to be. Jeez. Going to be yet another long afternoon and an even longer (and nervy) April. When was the last time we had an April when we weren't battling for or against something!

Why we didn't bring in a "proper " manager I do not know. Mr. Scally before you worry about building a new stadium bring in someone that can help you and the next manager build a team, please.

Chaotic 89th+ minutes! Penalty won. Penalty missed. Goal scored. Goal conceded. Red card for Dack. Now a win for Shrewsbury on Tuesday and we sit in the relegation zone. Ouch.

Looks like were trying to foul our way out of trouble. Don't worry the Shrews will save us,they have Millwall at home, don't think any points there ? Gills not prepared to play after a long couch trip by the looks of it.??

Our so called defence is laughable and we have a giant goalkeeper who would be more successful looking after the goose that lays the golden eggs. Very simply, he cannot catch. Embarrassing, incompetent, predictable. Sad to be laughed at by such a poor side as MKD

Don't worry the Shrews will save us,they have Millwall at home, don't think any points there

I didn't see Swindon winning at Fleetwood either but they did and are now within a win of us.

Trying to stay posetive, lol, either that or I am going to start drinking at 12.30, oohh wwooo thats NOW, cheers.

Another awful result,and architects of our own downfall.To go 2-0 down in ten minutes to a relegrival is embarrassing.A few players backed off for their player to hit one in the top corner.Oshilaja messes about on The halfway line for them to nick it off him,and then unchallenged to score.The second half we worked our way back in the game with a good finish from Cody,then Cody misses a one on one.He then got brought down in the 90th minute for a penalty.Wright saw his penalty saved ,but managed to bundle in the rebound.You then think what a good point after being 2-0 down,then we concede a really poor goal 45 seconds later.No one put their head on the ball in the box,then Holy was way out of his goal for Lewington to head in.The poor start is the main reason we got nothing.Five games left and I cannot see us getting the 6-7 points we need now

I think we have now reached A Situation where Paul Scally needs to look to make A Managerial Change and maybe that change in management can give us that new manager bounce we need to retain our League One Status, obviously this is very harsh on Adrian Pennock and I really dislike calling for a managerial change because the players have to take responsibility as well, but I don't think we have seen any major improvement from the time that Justin Edinburgh has been sacked and I do think that Justin Edinburgh would have won more games then Adrian Pennock, even though I thought that Justin Edinburgh had to go after that 1-0 home defeat against Oxford United, overall, the performances and results haven't been good enough under Adrian Pennock's Management, and while there have been moments where the performances and results have been good enough, like the two very encouraging 2-2 draws against Bradford City and Sheffield United, Gillingham fought back brilliantly to win 3-2 against Scunthorpe United, and there was the home win against Southend United as well, but there has also been some very disappointing results against teams around us, results which could or will cost our place in League One Next Season, The 2-1 Away Defeat against Coventry City, Losing To Swindon Town, Chesterfield scoring A Last Minute Equaliser, only just scrapping a draw against Port Vale and The 2-2 draw against AFC Wimbledon, even if Gillingham had managed just to win one of those matches, then we would be feeling much more confidant about retaining our place in League One Next Season.

I am normally A Glasses Half Full Supporter who tries to look for the positives as well as the negatives, but when your losing four matches on the spin, conceding twelve goals in those last four matches and only scoring three goals, one of those was Josh Wright scoring a re-bound from A Penalty, then your in big trouble, Bolton Wanderers scored four goals, Rochdale scored four goals, MK Dons scored three - and they could have scored another three more - defensively, this is the worst Gillingham Side I have ever see, Seventy One Goals against proves why we are where we are in the table, Under Andy Hessenthaler, I saw A Few 4-3 results that went either in our against our favour, but that team consisted of many of our League Two Title Winning Players, Like Matt Fish, Joe Martin, Charlie Lee, Chris Whelpdale and Danny Kedwell, if everyone was out of contract at the end of the season, how many of this current squad would you keep ??? - And what is really frustrating is that this is a decent squad, opposition supporters would look at the players we have got, Like Bradley Dack, Cody McDonald, Scott Wagstaff, and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas when he was here and think - why are Gillingham Struggling ??? - but the answer to that question is that we haven't replaced John Egan or Adam El-Abd, we haven't been able to name a settled side, Max Ehmer has played alongside Zesh Rehman, Mitchell Dickenson, Josh Pask, Adedeji Oshilaja, Baily Cargill and Chris Herd either in A Back Three, A Back Four and A Back Five - constant changes in defence, changing the system, changes of personal, this hasn't helped at all.

I would say the same-thing for Cody McDonald in attack, how many strike partners has he had this season, Harry Cornick, Josh Parker, Joe Quigley, Rory Donnelly, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Bradley Dack, we haven't had a settled strike partner, and we don't actually create many clear cut goal-scoring opportunities in open play, when your basically hoping for A Long Throw From Either Ryan Jackson and Mark Byrne to create A Decent Goal-Scoring Opportunity then you can see why Bradley Dack and Cody McDonald are not getting the chances to score goals, you could name any of our attacking players, and they would have the same predicament, how many chances are being created for them in open play ???

Something else that happened right in-front of me on Saturday was Gillingham Supporters Looking To Fight Each Other, we were 2-0 down, tempers were running high, someone said Sack Paul Scally and another supporter asked - who is going to buy the club ??? - this started a melay where two supporters needed to be separated, our current league position has seen frustrations and emotions running high, and when I looked around The Away End at Stadium MK, The Away End was packed and 650 sounded very low to me, 850 would have been a more accurate representation of our support, and I am looking around and thinking, look at this incredible away support, and Gillingham go 2-0 down inside the opening ten minutes, you cannot blame supporters for being frustrated because this has been a very frustrating season, and we're going to have different view points, but I have to disagree with the sack Paul Scally argument.

And Here's Why I disagree with Sack Paul Scally, I look at Clubs like Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Cardiff City, Charlton Athletic, Coventry City and finally Leyton Orient, these clubs have all had or are still currently having problems with there owners, Leyton Orient have had Eleven Manager's in just over three season's, there on to there fifth Manager This Season and Leyton Orient have money problems and they look like they are going to go down into The Conference National, and what is very concerning is the fact that clubs who have gone into The Conference National with money problems have found themselves having to go under and start again, Hereford United, Chester City and Darlington come to mind straight away, so I really do hope that doesn't happen to Leyton Orient, that's why I don't agree with the sack Paul Scally Comment, because we could get someone in like SISU At Coventry City and have no Ground and No Training Ground, or we can end up like Leyton Orient and go on a serious decline down into Non League Football.

I have to criticise Adrian Pennock for his substitutions On Saturday, Why do Elliott List and Josh Parker come on with just over ten minutes and stoppage time remaining ??? why did Harry Cornick start up-front when we had Josh Parker, Rory Donnelly and Joe Quigley on the bench ??? - why do we not play to our players strengths, I picked out Cody McDonald and Bradley Dack pre-match as the players we need in top form if Gillingham were to get a result against MK Dons, but we needed the ball on the deck in the opposition's final third and that doesn't happen often enough, granted, Cody McDonald should have scored that one on one chance he had in The Second Half but he was Man Of The Match by a mile on Saturday, scored the consolation goal for 1-2, wins the penalty which Josh Wright equalised from - just - and looking at the players who are out of contract, Cody McDonald is one player I would offer A Contract to now, even if we want two strikers to be first choice strikers for Gillingham Next Season, you would still want Cody McDonald in and around the squad, because he would be a handy substitute to bring on.

I have no idea why Bradley Dack was sent off because I missed The Red Card, and now Bradley Dack will be missing for the next two matches for Gillingham as he was already sent off against Millwall back in December, the first Yellow Card was one of those Yellow Cards where you take one for a team, no complaints about that, but because I didn't see The Second Yellow, I cannot say if the decision to send Bradley Dack off was A Correct or In-Correct Decision, but we will miss him for the next two matches, and that sending off conceding just after we equalised for 2-2 and letting that point slip through our grasp will confirm our spot in League Two Next Season, what on earth was Tomas Holy doing for the third goal and why didn't Zesh Rehman header the ball off the goal-line, Now Tomas Holy kept us in this match with a few saves, but he also fumbled the ball a few times, and that is to be expected, Tomas Holy has never played in England before, and we have thrown him into A Relegation Battle Behind A Defence that cannot keep A Clean Sheet.

I would bring Stuart Nelson back between the sticks for the remaining five league games of the season, but over the summer, I think Tomas Holy, Stuart Nelson and Tom Hadler and possibly another goalkeeper depending if Adrian Pennock or someone else wants to bring in there own Goalkeeper will compete for Gillingham's Number One Role, now isn't the time to throw inexperienced between the sticks, but I do think some of our younger players who have been given Professional Contracts For Next Season should be given a chance to show what they can do now, like Noel Mbo, because I cannot remember a time where A Gillingham Youngster has there name chanted without making A Senior First Team Appearance for Gillingham Football Club, everyone I spoke to wants to see Noel Mbo make the bench at the very least, he has scored twenty goals for Gillingham's Youth Team for the second successive season, let's see what Noel Mbo can do when he is given A Chance to play for Gillingham's First Team.

But looking around Stadium MK, You can see why Paul Scally wants to build A Stadium exactly how MK Dons have built there stadium, because Stadium MK only had A Ground Capacity of 18,000 with just A Lower Tier before they built A Upper Tier all the way around all four stands which has taken The Stadium Capacity up to 30,500, in-fact, I remember Gillingham were the first Away Supporters to be given The Upper Tier as that stand needed a safety certificate, and this was the match before Wolves took 9,000 away fans to Stadium MK, but it isn't just The Stadium, it's the facilities built around The Stadium which bring in additional income on top of Gate Money, there is Odeon Cinema, The Darts Championship, Hilton Hotel, Plenty Of Shops, Restaurants and Car Park Places, this is precisely the sort of stadium that Paul Scally wants to build for Gillingham Football Club, and if there is A Train Station at Mill Hill, and The Stadium is built with plenty of room for expansion in mind, then this will be a huge success for Gillingham Football Club, but I do think that The Train Station at Mill Hill is essential.

I got to mention Ryan Jackson who just is unwilling to take players on, clearly the hamstring injuries have had a mental effect on Ryan Jackson who is afraid of breaking down and picking up another hamstring or groin injury, I think you have got to question the fitness work under Justin Edinburgh this season because there have been so many injuries, there have been injury problems since Justin Edinburgh has gone, but you build up your core fitness levels during pre-season, and with little to no finances for new players, we're taking chances on players like Ollie Muldoon, Harry Cornick, Joe Quigley, Josh Parker and Zesh Rehman, players who are basically being thrown together to try and plug glaring gaps in this squad, and it just hasn't worked at all.

I thought I post A Few Thoughts on everything in general, but over-all, you cannot go 2-0 down and expect to recover to win or draw, we almost picked up a point from a game where Gillingham were terrible for forty five minutes, but we threw it away thanks to dreadful error's from Tomas Holy and Zesh Rehman, now, we have got Millwall at home at Priestfield Stadium, and this is why we needed to pick up points against MK Dons and Peterborough United, those were must not lose, but 100% must win games for Gillingham, and we have got nothing from those two games, Millwall will be tough, I am not expecting anything out of this match and I think we're basically relying on Shrewsbury Town losing every game for Gillingham to stay up, that's the only way I see us avoiding the drop, other teams not picking up points, rather then Gillingham pulling themselves out of the mire ourselves - I just hope that Gillingham can get the two wins we clearly need, but I just cannot see it unfortunately.